[Itaewon Tragedy] Minister of Employment: "Will Ensure No Difficulties for Families of Victims in Taking Leave or Vacation"

On the 30th, a large-scale crush disaster occurred in the Itaewon area of Seoul. Families of the missing are waiting in the waiting room of the missing persons reception center set up at Hannam-dong Community Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, emphasized that he will actively support the families of the victims of the 'Itaewon tragedy' so that they do not face difficulties in taking leave or time off for psychological stability.

On the 30th at 2 p.m., Minister Lee held a nationwide agency heads meeting related to the Itaewon accident and said, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor will also prioritize the swift handling of the Itaewon accident and provide active support."

Minister Lee stated, "We will ensure that there are no difficulties in using leave or time off for the psychological stability of the victims' families or those injured," and added, "In addition to annual leave, we will actively request workplaces to allow the use of additional leave or time off, special paid leave, and family care leave."

He continued, "We will ask for maximum cooperation so that the affected workers do not suffer disadvantages due to long-term leave or time off," and emphasized, "Furthermore, we will ensure that families of the deceased and injured victims do not face disadvantages in services such as unemployment benefits and vocational training due to mental shock or caregiving."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters and the Seoul Employment and Labor Office, which has jurisdiction over the accident area, will maintain an emergency work posture until the accident is resolved.

Also, nationwide local offices plan to strengthen inspections to prevent industrial accidents at large-scale events such as scheduled regional festivals to avoid incidents similar to the Itaewon tragedy.

Regarding the government's designation of the period until the 5th of next month as the 'National Mourning Period,' Minister Lee asked all Ministry of Employment and Labor staff to strictly manage their duties and adjust various event schedules to share in the grief of the bereaved families.

Meanwhile, a massive crowd gathered in the Itaewon area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ahead of Halloween Day the previous day, resulting in a crush accident with a large number of casualties.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Fire Agency, the death toll from the Itaewon tragedy currently stands at 153. This is an increase of two from the 151 deaths announced at 10 a.m. that day. The number of injured includes 24 seriously injured and 79 with minor injuries, totaling 103.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.